Tuesday, 15 April 2014

I am a self-confessed nail varnish hoarder, and this post is basically about how that hoard has just grown by two.

Words cannot explain how much I love the fact that the world of nail art has expanded into so many forms, whether it's nail wraps, art pens, confetti, sequins, magnets, or crocodile effects.

I used to bite my nails quite badly (sometimes if i'm stressed or nervous or bored I still do), but I must say the wide range of options available when it comes to nail art has become my motivation to stop.

So these two nail varnishes were quite a spontaneous purchase, but these two textured effects I hadn't yet tried, so to a nail varnish hoarder, this purchase was a must.

The Barry M Matte Nail Paint is the first matte nail varnish I've tried, and I was really impressed. I was a bit disappointed with the range of colours in this collections, which consisted of just this Burgundy shade, a Black, a Light Brown Caramel, a Nude Vanilla and a Brown Mocha. Granted, all of these shades would look amazing in matte effect,but I think this is an effect that I personally think if it was on every Barry M shade, I'd happily buy the entire lot with my life savings.

It applies really evenly, and two coats is enough for an opaque, matte finish. I think for a grungey look, this particular shade is a nice, more Summery alternative to black.

One thing that I was really surprised with was how long it was before the varnish chipped. I really love Barry M as a brand, simply for it's variety of shades and effects, but I do have a few issues with how quickly the varnishes chip, but this particular shade was quite resilient, and that was without a top coat, which would obviously take away the matte effect.

As for Seventeen, I've never used their products before, but was attracted to their Rock Hard Nail Effects collection. Said to give your nails a gritty concrete effect, I was really curious as to how this would look.

I really like the grey colour, and again it applied really evenly, and two coats is more than enough for an even finish. This is an effect that I think can only be noticed up close, but it does look good. The varnish is supposed to be matte as well, but the matte effect is nowhere near as noticeable as the Barry M varnish.

Friday, 4 April 2014

Now through March, with the odd day of incredible summer-style weather, I caught the shopping bug that means the majority of what I bought was only really suitable for those odd, yet glorious days, however, I remain hopeful that there will be a lot more of them.

Unfortunately, due to the smoggy pollution situation, right now the sky in Bedfordshire is a grim grey, so in an attempt to bring back that carefree summer feeling, I decided to share with you my March purchases.

I admit that for the beginning of my new Summer wardrobe, color is a bit sparse, however whenever Winter comes around, I get stuck in a monochrome phase (with the odd splash of green, my favorite color) so this is my wardrobes slow transformation into a colorful butterfly.

I'm so happy with this haul, especially the curling wand. I've recently drastically changed my hair (all to be revealed, however if you follow me on Instagram @STEPHANIESOFOKLEOUS you'll get a preview) and really wanted to see what it looked like curled. It took me forever to actually find a curling wand that had good reviews, but I finally stumbled across this one on Amazon. Not a bad review insight, and only £22, I just had to get it.

I guess this is more of a capsule start to my Summer wardrobe; a collection of things that I can mix and match, and are just really handy to have. The two t-shirts look really good with the jeans, or with a faux leather pencil skirt, whilst the bardot top adds a more formal look to the jeans, and contrasts really well with the bright yellow shorts, which are so cute, and I can't wait to style them.

The rings I have already mentioned in previous post, but I am still so in love with them, and I think they work so well with everything I bought this month.

In regards to the nail varnishes, they're not the summeriest of colors I know, but I've needed a black nail varnish for ages, an I will always go back to Barry M for my classic colors. I also love texture nail varnishes, so really wanted to try out one of Barry M's Matte Collection, and whilst I was looking around in Boots, I found Seventeen, and their Rock Hard collection, which I decided to give a go as well. I do plan on doing a post purely for these varnishes, so stay tuned for that.

I will be doing posts styling all of these items, and as well as product reviews, and a reveal of my new hair. Eeeek.

So what have you guys been splashing your money on?

Also, I'm getting used to using curling wands, so if you guys have any advice on using them and heat protection, I'd really appreciate it.